WayWORD teams up with ArteEast and Peacock & the worm to showcase the work of two exciting visual artists. Join Kurdish-Iraqi artist Sherko Abbas, and Iranian-born, London-based artist Afsoon to learn about their practice and experience some of their work. Nathaniel Bowditch, a long-time member of ArteEast’s board of directors, will provide context, explaining the organisation’s work in bringing Middle-East and North African artists to global audiences.

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This event will be in-person with screening of some pre-recorded material and some blended online elements. Chaired by Enxhi Mandija and including audience Q&A.

 

Sherko Abbas is a Kurdish-Iraqi artist, born in 1978 in Iran where his family lived as refugees. He returned to Iraq aged two and subsequently studied Fine Art in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, and graduated with a Master in Fine Arts from Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2015. He works within various media including video, performance, text, sculpture and sound. His practice is dedicated to collective memory, sonic and visual memory, as well as he geopolitical situation of contemporary Iraq. Through his work, he observes how war has been absorbed into local culture in Iraq through music, film, cartoons and children’s toys. His work has been exhibited throughout the world, from Venice, Paris and Berlin to London, Gdansk and New York. Sherko has been a featured artist with ArteEast and also works as a curator and co-ordinator of cultural events, most recently the “In-between Worlds. Kurdish Contemporary Artists” collection in Treviso, Italy.

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Afsoon is an Iranian-born, London-based artist. She works predominantly in collage but has used various media such as linocut, watercolour, photography, ceramic, pastel and etching. She usually spends long periods researching her chosen subject to make pieces that often combine text with images while merging Occident and Orient ideas. Her work is humorous, playful and sophisticated and feels simultaneously familiar and foreign. Afsoon has taken part in numerous solo and group shows, biennales and museum exhibitions. Her pieces can be found in prominent collections such as the British Museum, LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum), and the Berger/YSL Collection.

 

ArteEast supports a thriving and sustainable arts sector in the Middle East and North Africa. Based in New York, this non-profit organisation’s mission is to deepen international arts engagement and to provide support to MENA-based artists and arts organizations so as to broaden the global audience for contemporary culture from the region. Its core programs include career-building residencies for MENA region-based artists, professional development workshops and resources for artists, and audience building and community engagement around MENA arts.

 

A musician, singer and songwriter in alternative metal band Enormous, with bassist/vocalist Eden Unger and drummer Joshua, Nathaniel (Nate) Bowditch went on to become a Professor of Philosophy, Dean of School of Humanities & Social Science at the American University in Cairo and Dean of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Long Island University. Nate has been a director of ArteEast until summer 2022. He has recently been appointed Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs, Plymouth State University.